Sealing means



L. R. TWYMAN SEALING MEANS Aug. 17, 1943..

Filed March 8, 1941 H Ii IHIII III mmm 1| a4 as FIG. 2

FIG. 3

I INVENTOR L. RAYMOND TWYMAN ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 17, 1943 SEALINGMEANS L. Raymond Twyman, Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Mich.,assignor to Vickers Incorporated, Detroit, Mich., a corporation 01'Michig an Application March 8, 1941, Serial No. 382,287

2 Claims.

This invention relates to power transmissions,

particularly to those of the type comprising two or more fluid pressureenergy translating devices, one of which may function as a pump andanother as a fluid motor.

The invention is more particularly concerned with a sealing ring for usein conduit joints used in such'transmissions.

In the patent to Joseph A. Martin, No. 2,204,507,.

there is disclosed a sealing ring formed of semihard neoprene andadapted tov be positioned in an annular recess surrounding a conduit atthe juncture between two separable members. of this character have beenvery successful in eliminating the many small drips and seepagespreviously encountered at conduit joints in hydraulic power transmissionsystems. Such rings have been found to hold a tight seal without theslightest drip or seepage under conditionswhere previously usedconstructions would leak badly. As a result of this, some users of thesesealing rings have overworked their capabilities and have attempted touse them under such severe condi- A further object is to provide inconnection with a ring of this character a confining ring of sheet metalwhich is shaped to bridge the crack between the two members and whichcontacts the Walls of the recess on each member in such a way that fluidpressure will maintain such contact more tightly as it builds up.

Rings tions as to materially shorten their useful life.

For example, the matter of rigidity and resistance to warpage or otherseparation of the two main members of the conduit joint requires farless attention with such sealing rings than with prior constructions.They will hold their seal even though the crack between the two jointmembers should open up as much as fifteen or twenty when it is openedunder high pressure forces.

For some purposesit is occasionally desirable to utilize a sealingring'of softer material than is usually used and which has a tendency toflow outwardly or extrude through the crack, even though the design ofthe joint parts be very heavy It is also an .object of the invention toprovide an improved conduit joint wherein flow or extrusion of thesealing ring into the crack between the two joint halves is absolutelyprevented, even though the sealing ring he made of the very soft Figure2 is a cross section of a conduit joint showing the sealing ring aftergrowth'has taken place and before the joint is completely assembled.-

Figure 3 is a view corresponding to the left half of Figure 2 showingthe joint in assembled relationship when not subjected to pressure.

Figure 4 is a view corresponding to the right half of Figure-2 showingthe joint in assembled relationship and subjected to pressure.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown in Figure 2 a portion of aconduit joint which may be similar to that illustrated in the Martinpatent above mentioned comprising the two joint so that the crack doesnot open up very wide unsibility of flow of the neoprene or similarmaterial through the crack is prevented even though the crack be openedto a distance many times that which would Permit flow with the ring ofthe, Martin patent.

halves l0 and I2. The latter has an annular recess l4 surrounding theconduit l6 and a face l8 along which the two halves abut one another.

.Positioned in the recess I4 is a sealing ring 20 of similar shape tothat illustrated in the Martin patent aforesaid withthe exception thatthe upper corner is scalloped out as indicated at 22.

-though softer material may be equally'satisfactorily used.

The ring 2| when molded is made smaller than the recess l4 and is grownto size by submersin it in oil for a suflicient length of time forsubstantially its full growth to take place.

An auxiliary confining ring 28 of sheet metal is provided to fit thecut-out portion 22 after the ring has been grown to size. The confiningring 28 is shaped as a portion of a, torus, that is, a segment thereoftaken on the minor circle of the torus. The upper edge and the outeredge of the ring 28 are preferably finished accurately to lie parallelwith the surfaces with which they contact when in the positions shown inFigures 3 and 4.

When the sealing ring has been assembled in the conduit joint, as shownin Figure 2, the two halves l0 and I2 may be drawn together by suitablebolts or other fastening means, not shown, and the sealing ring willtake the form shown in Figure 3. It will be noted that the lips 24 aretightly maintained in contact at their very inner corners with the flatsurfaces at the bottom of the recess I4 and at the bottom of the memberID. Fluid pressure applied to the sealing ring tends to tighten thl!contact and absolutely prevent the flow of oil oven in the minutestquantities through the crack at the surface I8.

Should the joint halves and their fastening means be of such-characterthat a relatively large crack opens up at the surface l8 when pressureis applied to the conduit, the ring follows this movement, asillustrated in Figure 4. Since the rubber-like material of the ring 20,when confined under pressure, acts much as ,.a fluid, the reinforcingring 28 is forced upwardly to follow the movements of the member ID.This action is further insured by reason of the fact that the expandingpressure applied to the inner convex surface of the ring 28 acts with anet force pushing upwardly and outwardly at approximately fortyfivedegrees to the vertical or horizontal. The horizontal outwardly pushingcomponent of this force is resisted, however, by the natural resistanceof the ring 28 to circumferential expansion. The upward verticalcomponent, however, is unresisted since the member I8 moves upwardlyunder the application of pressure. Thus, it follows that the ring 28must remain in contact with the flat surface It! and must thereforefollow the movements of the member l8 up and down under Thus, theconfining ring 28 is maintained in tight contact both with thecylindrical wall of the recess l4 and with the flat surface I8 of themember Hi. In this way the flow of the material of ring 20 cannot occurbecause there is no opening through which such flow can take place eventhough the crack between the two members open up to a very largeopening.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosedconstitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other formsmight be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims whichfollow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A sealing ring for sealing a circular crack between two membersconfining a fluid and providing an annular recess adjacent the crack,said ring comprising a body of material having the resilientcharacteristics of rubber and shaped to provide when unstressed beforeassembly a generally U-sha'ped cross section including a pair ofdivergently flared flexible lips forming the legs of the U and joined bya backing portion adapted to seat in the recess, and a confiing ring ofsheet metal in the shape of a torus truncated to a segment of the minorcircle thereof, said metal ring being positioned in the recess andbriding the crack by a substantial distance into the recess along thesurface of each member whereby the a sealing ring is prevented fromentering the crack when the latter is opened a substantial distanceunder the force of fluid pressure.

2. A sealing ring for sealing a circular crack between two membersconfining a, fluid and providing an annular recess adjacent the crack,said ring" comprising a, body' of material having the resilientcharacteristics of rubber and shaped to provide when unstressed beforeassembly a. generally U-shaped cross section including a pair ofdivergently flared flexible lips forming the legs of the U and joined bya backing portion adapted to seat in the recess, and a confining ring ofsheet metal shaped to bridge the crack for a substantial distance oneither side thereof and engaging a wall of the recess on each memberwith an abutting contact which is tightened by the application of fluidpressure and independent of opening of said crack.

L. RAYMOND TWYMAN.

